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Supervisor candidates trade barbs at News-Review debate

Sean Walter
Sean Walter

Has Route 58 been overdeveloped?

 Walter: “It’s a question that’s been asked and answered. From my perspective, if you look back at the Joe Janoski history and even before that, with Allen Smith. They planned to bring businesses to Route 58. We had a planning board, Barbara Blass was the chairwoman for a long time, and they planned to bring sensible development to Route 58 to increase the tax base because that’s what the residents of this town wanted. When I moved here 25 years ago, I had to drive all the way to Setauket to Home Depot. People wanted this. Was traffic a problem? Yes, because it’s a very popular place. Is it largely done? It is largely done. There’s only a few more vacant parcels left on Route 58 today. And I know, and Councilwoman Giglio knows about this, I’m not saying any trade secrets here. At the old Walmart shopping center, I did speak with Regal Cinemas about three weeks ago and they are still negotiating to go into that Walmart shopping center. So there’s a little bit more room, but this is the development that was planned by the town and planned by the master plan. It starts at the Expressway and stops at County Road 105. I think the folks like it and I know, while is the traffic isn’t that great,  it is a very popular place and people want to go to popular places.”

Coates: “My problem with the Route 58 and we all know that it’s over trafficked and overburden, but my biggest problem with Route 58 is economics of it. We were told that if Route 58 was built, we’re gonna increase our tax base. We’ve increased our tax base by a little bit. But the bottom line is, we don’t have a town government that lives within its means. Route 58 was supposed to make all of us well off. How did that work out? Now, at EPCAL, they’re looking to have everyone go there tax-free. Downtown they are looking to have everyone go there tax free. Who’s taking it on the chin? Who is paying the tab for this town? Look at all the police cars, it’s a strain on our services. Look at all the fire protection we have to incur. So who’s smarter? Southold, who  makes the commute to our stores and then goes home to a rural town where their taxes are significantly less than ours? They don’t have a 5 percent tax increase. So my qualm with Route  58 is the economics of it. We were told it was gonna be Nirvana and it hasn’t worked out that way. The taxpayers are taking it on the chin. We’ve got all of the blame and all of the problems and all of the policing and at the same time, we’ve got the highest tax rate in all of the county. Explain to me, like I’m a three-year-old, how Route 58 has helped us out?”

Giglio: “I like driving through and looking at the farm fields and driving north of Route 58 and seeing all the farmland and driving down Sound Avenue and seeing the venues. I think it’s a very bucolic place to be in Riverhead. Again, I support the master plan. The MasterPlan was a plan that was worked on for 4 to 5 years,  where all commercial development in the town was proposed on Route 58 and gas was five downs per gallon. I didn’t want to go to Smith Haven Mall to go shopping for my kids. I was happy to have Route 58 right around the block where I could go and get all my shopping needs taken carecare of. The people that come to the 58 are going to the farms and supporting the forms so they can remain farmed. We need those people to come here and spend money on our farms so the farms can stay there, and  so they’re not selling to overdevelopment on the farmland on the outskirts of town. I believe that keeping it isolated on Route 58 is important and I support the master plan and I don’t believe in spending anymore money on looking at Route 58 with only a few parcels that are left to be developed there. We should work with the county to get cross easements, seeking get from one shopping center to another without having to go back out onto Route 58. I think the traffic lights have been synchronized and that the ambulance workers have a button they can press. Route 58 is important to the town.”

Walter: “So Tony, I’m gonna do it as a third grader and not a three-year-old. Here is the issue and it’s a very simple one. During the 2000s when your party was in power, they spent at 7 1/2 percent. That’s 3 to 4 times the rate of inflation every year. That’s just general fund. Digging up the landfill and shipping it off Long Island. Your party, the Democrats, did that. We came in and our spending averaged a percent and a quarter  under the rate of inflation. You cannot spend 7 1/2 percent and not have some problems. And we (the Democratic administration) borrowed every dime.”

Coates: “Mr.  Supervisor, don’t give me the financial conservative lecture. We are the most indebted, highest taxed, lowest bond-rated town. When you came to office, you had $10.5 million dollars in surplus. It’s all gone. EPCAL? Six years, and no map. So spare me the “I’m a fiscal conservative” speech because it just ain’t working for this Democrat.”

How will the town be in a position financially to start paying off its looming CPF debt in coming years while building up its reserves? How will you improve the town’s financial standing?

Coates: “My background is in municipal finance. I worked as an officer in some of the largest financial firms in the world. First of all, we said in the town board debate that IDA tax giveaways are not a burden on this town. I get the economics… When that million and a half dollars that went to the Marriott that had already broken ground, that was picked up by somebody – you. I heard the town board debate. We believe strongly in accountability audit. Yes two town departments just merged and that’s a nice economy. These  folks have been on the board for six years. And if two department heads say they think we can do it better by merging and would save about $1 million over five years. It should not have come from a department head, there should be a constant examination of that. So on day one, I would create an accountability audit that would do that. The solar farm. There was a deal on the supervisors desk that would’ve created a solar farm. Everyone pooh-poohs it now, but in the meantime, that you would have brought $9 million a year over the life of a 20 year lease. We would not have had to give away our property we would’ve had $180 million dollars coming to this town. We have underperforming assets in this town and they need to be examined. And finally, daily reconciliation of the budget. I’ve go to my computer screen every day and I can see green and red when stocks are doing well or poorly. This no reason in the world the Town Board members should be kept in the dark and not know where we stand on cost overruns. Those reforms that we can act and I will do so if I’m elected.”

Giglio: “I would continue to do what I’ve been doing, which is cut their cut back on millions of dollars in spending and and voting no for $6 million bond resolutions to cover operating expenses this year. Voting no for an $18 million debt to rebuild the armory and put the police and justice court in  there. Because we simply don’t have the money right now. I think we need to hold the line on spending, which I have done, and find new and efficient ways to do things. Rather than replacing positions, it’s important to find other ways to do that and to get the job done. I support upgrading our information technology and creating efficiency throughout the departments, where the assessors office is talking to the building department and where you have to go to the assessors office and apply for a document in order to get a certificate of occupancy, so that that buildout gets on the assessment rolls right-of-way right away. I think that there’s things we can do to bring in non tax-generating revenue and making sure the developers to come to town are paying the full fee of what it costs to process their application. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing it. We should be getting back to the basic fundamentals of government should be providing. Stick with that, the fluff that goes along with that, we don’t want to raise fees but we have to. It’s costing us that much to process an application, they have to pay the fee. You should not have to. I analyzed several departments and I’ve analyze the rental permits, and (proposed) doubled the fees because that’s what it cost to process those applications. We’ve been subsidizing for years and now the resolution is on the table to double the fees for rental housing permits which by the way we doubled the fees for myself. But that’s what we need to do.”

Walter: “Could you repeat the question, i though it was a CPS question… Over the years, I figured out what it would take to solve the general funds problem and we’ve solved it. It’s balanced and if you don’t want to believe that,  you can see it in the next couple years but if we keep our spending down. But the CPS had me scratching my head because the only way to bring in more CPF  revenue is to sell more property and get the economy of the town going really strong like it was in 2004 to 2006.  As town supervisor, I can’t do that. I can’t push home sales. So we came up with something really creative. It does have its downside,  but it’s really creative. Fred Thiele is going to extend the CPF that for another 20 years. We wrote special state legislation which passed in the Senate and which will pass in the assembly,  Fred Thiele said, next year. It will allow us to refinance our CPF debt. Normally you could not  refinance CPF dead. We have to refinance it to get our debt service in line with our income. So that legislation was passed in the Senate and we’ve got all sorts of assurances to get that through Albany.”

Coates: “I heard the supervisor use the phrase that the supervisor can do nothing to push home sales. We are the only town in Suffolk County where property values are actually falling. It does me no good to say that to folks. You covered it in Northforker.  The supervisor can do a heck of a lot to push home sales. He can create the atmosphere in the community where people want to come here. They can create a budget where we are not living hand to mouth and we can actually get things done. So the supervisor can do a great deal to push home sales.”

Giglio: “When it comes to the CPF that it is money that was spent to preserve farmland’s. And I think that moving forward, having Developers come forward and buy those from in developing rights  so that we’re not spending any more money to preserve land is a good start. And I think that, sales of property in the town,  by creating and fixing quality-of-life issues, will help to improve helps home sales and also commercial sales. And then, a portion of that money is put into the CPF to pay back the debt.”

Walter: “So I stand corrected, I can do something to push home sales. This used to be known as the town that couldn’t get out of its own way and nobody wanted to come here. That’s not the town it is anymore. But Mr. Coates, just because you say it over and over again, doesn’t make it true. We are not the highest taxed town and we are not the highest indebted town. Just go look at East Hampton’s books. They’ve got more debt. But the reality is, property values in Riverhead are not falling. They are rising, not as fast as oceanfront property in East Hampton or Sound-front property in Baiting Hollow,  but they are rising. Just take a look at the stats.”

What’s your number one priority as supervisor?

Giglio: “Taxes are the number one priority. As a hard-working mother and with my husband working hard, we find it very hard to reach into a pocket year after year and pay another hundred dollars or $50. It’s becoming harder and harder to live on Long Island. So number one priority is to get taxes down and get to town on firm financial footing. The next thing is quality-of-life issues. We have houses that are falling apart, we have code enforcement that’s not going out writing tickets. We have buildings that are falling apart around town. And with our code enforcement officers, working 8:30 a.m.  to 4:30  p.m., that are reactive to phone calls to get on a daily basis rather than going down the list of overcrowding houses to investigate buildings that are crumbling.  That is an issue. That’s why I’m going to eliminate the deputy supervisor position and hire more code enforcement officers.  The EPCAL subdivision. We need the jobs. Our kids can’t live here anymore. It’s the brain drain, they have to go find somewhere else to live. I have kids that can’t afford to live here and they live in other parts of the country and the world. It’s important to get the EPCAL subdivision completed and create high-paying jobs that we lost when Grumman left. It’s important to give Riverhead Police Department the tools that they need to do their job. It’s funny that the supervisor says that Mr. Coates says things over and over again and it doesn’t make it true. It also doesn’t make it true that Jodi Giglio supports the Riverhead Police Department merging with Suffolk County, because I don’t.”

Walter: “I’m gonna start with saving the Riverhead Police Department, because nobody could believe that somebody would spend $200,000 on a campaign to get someone elected in a town they have no interest in. Right now there’s a lot of big priorities and the single biggest one is ushering in Lumenoti Aerospace. That is the future of the town. There’s no bigger company coming to Long Island then this company. So ushering them in and making them feel at home and having the subdivision work so they can prosper in a cow, is probably the number one priority for the next six months to a year. People may not believe it but they’ve already bought houses in Riverhead, and  they closed on a $3.5 million property. They are here and they’re hiring 40 to 50 engineers and CAD designers. It’s time to start creating good paying jobs and that’s the biggest thing.”

Coates: First, let me say from the previous question. East Hampton has less debt than we do. And I’ll point you today to this article. They refinanced some bonds and saved lots of money because they have a better bond ratings than we do. It’s a close call but they were able to do this because they made sound financial decisions. My number one priority is to make sound financial decisions. Can you imagine a more poorly planned place. Over the last six years, we’ve gone backwards in some of these issues. I started off by saying we’re the highest taxed and lowest bond-rated and most indebted town. That’s the exoskeleton of the town. I met with the police officers the other day. It’s your job as Town Supervisor to give them the template to get the job done. To give them the tools that they need to get the job done. We have excellent people working for this town but they’re always under the sword of Damocles that we’re broke. So my number one priority would be to get us on that from financial footing that has eluded them for the last six years.

Giglio: “Sean will say that Tony is using his platform and Tony will say he’s using his own platform, but in fact, they’re the same platforms and they have been for the last seven years that these guys were connected at the hip, putting forth the budgets and the plan for the town. It’s time for new leadership and its time for a mature business person. For once, I would like to open up the newspapers and read about all the good things that are happening in Riverhead instead of listening to these two acting like children on the constant attacks. You want to get rid of the bickering and everything else. We need to all work together and we need a leader that can do that.”

Walter: “You can’t build this town up by tearing it down. You know, intuitively, that the last six years have been in a terrible economy and positive things happened in this town. You know your town tax didn’t go up when you look at your tax bill. There’s no appreciable difference in your town tax bill. You know that crime is down, you know this town is doing well. You don’t have to go past Route 58 or downtown Main Street to see it. We used to be known as the ‘little town the couldn’t.’ You never hear that anymore. So my opponents, don’t tear the town down because you’ll never bring businesses here by tearing us down.”

Coates: “My platform is my platform and I disagree completely with you folks. You are all for the master plan, while I think it needs to be revisited.  We’re living on special permits all over this town. You think IDA tax breaks are not a problem,  I think they are. I think downtown needs a fresh start and we need to rethink what we’re doing. And Councilwoman Giglio, as far as getting along with people, I’ve watch the two of you on channel 22 for the last six years and it wasn’t exactly reruns of ‘Leave it to Beaver'”

CLOSING STATEMENTS

Coates: “I ask all of you tonight what’s new? What did you hear tonight that was different? Because I’ll tell you, I didn’t hear anything. They run this place for the last six years. What’s their record?  We are pay money per person than any town in Suffolk County. They had $10.5 million dollars in surplus the day they showed up in town hall. Now it’s all gone. We have the county’s lowest bond rating, which means we have the lowest credit rating of anytime the county. We’re the only place where, according to Northforker, property values are actually falling. EPCAL was priority number one the day they took office. I was excited to work with them the day they took office, but six years later, there’s not even a map of the subdivision there.But they love tax breaks. They love tax breaks downtown, they love them all around town, they love them at EPCAL and they love them on Route 58. They love tax breaks for everyone but you. You are going to get a 5 percent tax increase this year. The highest of any town in the county. In the real world, if someone sent you that resume, you wouldn’t even interview them for the job. But this is politics. So folks, they’ve had plenty of time to make that plan work, it just doesn’t work. To the supervisors credit, he’s resolute. He says he’ll stand by his record. God bless him. Councilwoman Giglio, on the other hand, would lead you to believe that she has been on vacation while this financial catastrophe happened. You heard it tonight. She’s talked a lot and whatever the issue, she had an answer.But in the end, where was she? She had the power? She has an equal vote to the supervisor and the actions don’t match the words. This is like a whodunit when no one is guilty. I have a different vision of what a supervisor does. I think it’s about results and I think it’s about getting the job done.”

Giglio: “I just want to say that growing up in the house that I grew up in, my father went to work every day and he worked hard. My mom stayed home. We always had someone telling us morally to go in this direction or that. It taught us the values and principles. I’m proud of that. I’m proud of the way I was brought up. I’m also proud of the fact that I was the youngest of the four kids in the house and was used to taking swats from my sisters as I am in this campaign process. As you can see, the way people campaign is usually how they govern. And if you want to see this type of governance in Riverhead, then that’s what you’re gonna get. But I’m a leader. I’m a well-respected business woman. I want to put a business mentality into government. People keep telling me I can’t do that. I can do that. I want to get our town off the ground. I will take the steering wheel away from these two and drive the car until it’s out of gas. And then I’ll fill up, and I’ll do it again. Because you know what? EPCAL is the place where we can create a high-paying jobs that we need for our kids, and we may not collect all the money upfront but we will eventually get the money I will  get good development there. I’ll make sure of it. Business people come to me every day. This town needs a leader. I hope to have your support on November 3 and I promise you can trust me. I’m a member of the community. I talk to you all. You know who I am, you bring me cards and pictures. It  makes me so proud of the relationships I’ve established in this small town where people care so much about our town. You come out to vote. He came out tonight at a debate like this. You take part in the community. And so do I. I’m a taxpayer in this town, unlike my opponent (Mr. Coates). We have to move forward as a community and bring this town together in order to do good things for this town.”

Walter: “I bring you open, honest, and effective government. JC Watts once said you are defined in your character by how you conduct yourself when nobody’s looking. I’m not gonna to get into anybody’s character. But I’m gonna say this. We worked very hard to bring this town back. So listening to everybody talk about the different things that are going on the town, realize one thing. Abe Lincoln, said, ‘you don’t change horses midstream.’ Everybody’s talking about midstream. They are saying Main Street is  better but not quite there. EPCAL is almost subdivided. But not quite there. And Luminati bought property but they’re not quite there. The budget is balanced, but we could do better. The reality is this we took a town that was in terrible financial shape, we had the EPCAL properly where bad ideas came to die. And Main Street was 80 percent vacant and we made it better. So the two people sitting to my right to tell me it was not as good as it should’ve been. But it’s better and you know it,  you feel it. Very few people look up to me and say ‘Walter, you really screwed up  this town.’ You never hear that. What I hear is, ‘this is good, but we can do better.’ So I’m happy to be part of the great things we’ve done so far and I hope you trust me to continue this process. I couldn’t fix all the problems overnight. I wish I could have. But when you inherited budgets that were 12 percent out of balance and 7 1/2 percent spending increases, there was a lot of work to be done,  with the vacancies and proposals at EPCal that whenever gonna happen. I’m happy to have moved everything forward and I look forward to your support. In the end it’s all about character. Your character defines how you act always.”